MSF demands independent probe into Afghan hospital air strike that killed 22


KABUL (Reuters) – Medical aid group Medecins Sans Frontieres on Sunday demanded that an independent international body investigate the air strike that hit an Afghan hospital, killing 22 people.

An official said the group could not rely on a U.S. military probe that has been launched into the destruction of the hospital during fighting in the northern city of Kunduz.

“Under the clear presumption that a war crime has been committed, MSF demands that a full and transparent investigation into the event be conducted by an independent international body,” MSF General Director Christopher Stokes said in a statement.

“Relying only on an internal investigation by a party to the conflict would be wholly insufficient,” his statement added.

MSF, which did not specify which international body would be acceptable, also raised the death toll from 19 to 22 staff and patients killed.

(Writing by Kay Johnson; Editing by Jon Boyle)